Month: April 2012

(Meme) Sundays In Bed With….. #1

Posted on by Cindy

I am super excited to be able to take part in Sundays In Bed With……. this is actually the first time since hockey started (and its now finished) that I was able to stay in bed for a bit with no real rush to be any where right away so I got to take advantage of it.

But first let me tell you about this fun meme.

The awesome blogger behind this is Kate from Midnight Book Girl   not only is she an awesome blogger but she is also one of my roommates for BEA. YAY!!!

Midnight Book Girl

Sundays In Bed With….is a meme I’ve started to share the book we’re spending the morning in bed with, or the one we’d like to stay curled up in bed with all Sunday if only our busy lives would allow! For fun, take a picture of the book in your bed, or simply write up a post or comment below sharing your Sundays in Bed With book. Quoted from Kate’s blog

So the book I stayed in bed to read was this one. It was a super cute, quick read. My review will be posted this week.

Hope everyone had a good Sunday and that you managed to curl up with a book today. Thanks Kate for hosting this fantastic meme. See you soon.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Mini Challenge) Women of the Other World Series #1

Posted on by Cindy

I have to admit that I pretty much have been sucking at this challenge but I am hoping to redem myself shortly.

In case you aren’t aware of this Lucy from Moomlight Gleam’s Bookshelf is hosting this awesome reading challenge. If you are interested to checking it out click above.

I am currently taking part in the mini Challenge for this month. For more info you can check that out here.

So as part of my challenge this month I have to show pictures of all the Kelley Armstrong books I currently own. So here you are:

The Summoning, The Awakening and the Reckoning are the first three books in Kelley’s Darkest Powers Series. This was my first introduction to Kelley’s books. I had to dig to get these out of box that I had packed down in my basement and it was a good thing because I need to get The Reckoning signed when Kelley comes to town in Sept.

This is Kelley’s newest series called Darkest Rising and I have both books The Gathering and The Calling. I have yet to read them and hoping to very soon. I love the covers.

These will also be signed when I see Kelley in September.

This is a bunch of books that Kelley has short stories in:
-The Living Dead 2
-Kisses from Hell
-Hellbound Hearts
-Vampires The Recent Undead
-My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon
-Enthralled

I also have Kelley’s books Women of the Other World Series but they are all on my kobo and for some reason my camera won’t take a proper picture.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Review) A Boy Called Duct Tape

Posted on by Cindy

Title: A Boy Called Duct Tape
Author: Christopher Cloud
Pub Date: April 2012
Pages: 188
Publisher: CreateSpace

Source: I recieved an pdf copy of this book for my participation in the tour.

About the Book:
Pablo Perez is a 12-year-old poor kid without much going for him. His classmates have dubbed him “Duct Tape” because his tattered discount-store sneakers are held together with…you guessed it, duct tape. He can’t escape the bullying.

Pablo’s luck, however, changes after he finds a $20 gold coin while swimming in a river near his home. Pablo later buys a $1 treasure map at the county fair. The map shows the route to the “lost treasure” of Jesse James. Pablo can’t help but wonder: Is there a link between the map and the gold coin? He is determined to find out, and he, his 9-year-old sister and 13-year-old cousin hire an ill-natured cave guide, and begin a treacherous underground adventure in search of treasure.

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I just finished reading Christopher Cloud’s debut novel, A Boy Called Duct Tape, and I have to say I really enjoyed it.

Pablo is a young boy (12 years old) living in a trailer with him mom and sister, Pia (9 years old). Life for Pablo isn’t ideal. His mother is doing the best she can with the little she has and that means they don’t live in the lap of luxury. Money is tight and with that, poor Pablo is usually the victim of bullying because his cheap $20 shoes usually don’t make it through the year so he has resorted to duct taping them.

Then one day while Pablo and Pia are at James Creek skipping rocks, Pablo makes a shocking discovery. Now in order to skip rocks you need to have the perfectly flat ones and Pablo knows that the best rocks are usually at the very bottom. It was during one of his dive downs he grabs what he thinks is a rock but in reality when he comes up he discovers that its a 1879 $20.00 gold coin.

Pablo knows that old coins can be worth something and he really hopes that it is and takes to the Internet to find out the truth and discovers that this coin could possibly be worth $6,000+. He knows that this money can change the family’s life for the better.

This is where the adventure begins and I have to say that I managed to devour this within a few hours. I think this would be on interest to my son and will definitely add it to my new ereader when I get it.

Thanks to Pump Up Your Promo for contacting me about this book. I love discovering new authors and debut books.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Tour) A Boy Called Duct Tape

Posted on by Cindy

Title: A Boy Called Duct Tape
Author: Christopher Cloud
Pub Date: April 2012
Pages: 188
Publisher: CreateSpace

About the Book:
Pablo Perez is a 12-year-old poor kid without much going for him. His classmates have dubbed him “Duct Tape” because his tattered discount-store sneakers are held together with…you guessed it, duct tape. He can’t escape the bullying.

Pablo’s luck, however, changes after he finds a $20 gold coin while swimming in a river near his home. Pablo later buys a $1 treasure map at the county fair. The map shows the route to the “lost treasure” of Jesse James. Pablo can’t help but wonder: Is there a link between the map and the gold coin? He is determined to find out, and he, his 9-year-old sister and 13-year-old cousin hire an ill-natured cave guide, and begin a treacherous underground adventure in search of treasure.

About the author:
Christopher Cloud admits he came to literature late in life. “I was in my 60s before I developed a real interest in writing fiction,” he said. A Boy Called Duct Tape is Cloud’s debut middle-grade novel. It is a first-person account of three Latino children searching for the “lost treasure” of Jesse James.

Cloud began writing children’s fiction after a long career in journalism and public relations. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1967 with a degree in journalism. He has worked as a reporter, editor, and columnist for newspapers in Texas, California, and Missouri. His work has appeared in many national publications, including Time Magazine.

Employed by Sun Oil Company, Philadelphia, as public relations executive and later he operated his own PR agency. He created the board game Sixth Sense in 2002 and the game sold at independent bookstores nationwide.

Cloud said his next project is a young-adult novel. “I have written the first draft of a story I’m calling 16 And In Love,” Cloud said. “This story—like A Boy Called Duct Tape—is multicultural.”

Cloud lives in Joplin, Missouri.

Check back for my review later this morning.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Review & Tour) The Adventures of Baby Jaimie/Baby Jaimie Gets Stage Fright

Posted on by Cindy

Title:The Adventures of Baby Jaimie/Baby Jaimie gets stage Fright
Author: Jaimie Hope
Pages: 24
Pub Date: November 2011
Publisher: Create Space

Source: I received a copy of this book for my honest and sincere review and for my participation on the book tour.

About the book:

Baby Jaimie is in her first year of school. She has made a lot of friends and learned a lot of things. Now she will learn what it means to be a team player when she is in her very first play. Follow Baby Jaimie as she learns the lesson, there are no small parts, only small actors.

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Baby Jaimie is in kindergarten and one day her teacher (Mrs Johnson) comes in and tells the kids they will be doing a play. The fun part is the kids get to choose which they want to do and its a tie between Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs. Which will they choose?

Jaimie is excited about doing the play but her bubble is quickly burst when her sister, Kelly makes fun of her and basically scares her about doing the play saying things such as stage fright and forgetting lines. When she goes to school the next day what her sister said is in her head and she messes up. She is sad and disappointed.

Jaimie did an excellent job because she hit every emotion on the head. I mean who has faked an illness so they couldn’t go to school on the day of a play or presentation? I know I certainly did.

Now will Jaimie realize her mistake in lying to her mother? While she manage to pull the play off without a hitch? Will she over come her stage fright?

This is a perfect book to read to children because it teaches them that there is nothing to be afraid of, being scared is a normal reaction and that if you try your best it will be okay and honestly as a parent you only want your child to try their best.

I look forward to sharing this with the kids in the school library.

About the author:
Jaimie Hope was born in New York and it was in high school, when she joined the newspaper staff and decided she wanted to be a writer. Jamie received her Associates degree in 1999. Then she moved to Florida where she was an active volunteer in the local historical society and remained active in the arts. In 2005 Jaimie wrote her first children’s book, The Adventures of Baby Jaimie, published in 2006 and Who Says You Can”t Go Home? in 2008. The Adventures of Baby Jaimie: Baby Jaimie Goes to School in 2010. Her Autobiography, Roll With It followed by the third volume in her children’s series, The Adventures of Baby Jaimie: Baby Jaimie Gets Stage Fright, and her first Paranormal Romance, When You Come Back To Me Again were released in 2011.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Review) Illicit Magic

Posted on by Cindy

Since I am posting all these post fairly close together you probably already know about the book so I am just goig to get into my review.

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I want to thank Bewtiching Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of this tour and they were the ones we graciously provided me with an ecopy of the book to read and review. Thankfully it wasn’t a long read because I had to read it off my computer since I am having Kobo issues.

This is the first book in the Stella Mayweather series. The other books in the series are Unruly Magic and Devious Magic. They all sound really good. I am looking forward to getting them when I get a new ereader.

For me this was a different kind of paranormal romance and that was because it involved witches this time. I am trying to think if I read anything with witches lately? Hmm I don’t think so.

This book had everything I loved a little romance, a little mystery, a little action, cute guys and some humor.

I really like Stella. There was so much about Stella that you wanted to know about and she gradually let us know. It wasn’t all at once but gradually as the story progressed so did Stella which was nice because it kept you reading and wanting to find out more about her past.

For me I just wanted to reach out to Stella and be her friend because she never had the ideal life. Her parents died when she was young (5 years old) and was forced to live from foster home to foster home. She never really had a stable life like people need.

Stella is kind of a loner and sticks to herself and that is because she has magical powers. She chooses to be alone because she is afraid she will hurt someone she cares about so its easier to stick to yourself but honestly you can see that Stella just wants to have a friend who will understand what she is going through and stick by her through thick and thin. I mean who doesn’t want that?

At the age of 24, Stella is trying to live a normal life with doing the day to day things until she is attacked one night. Its basically hell on earth for her. Her attackers have set her place on fire but before anything tragic can happen a mysterious woman (Etoile) wisks her away.

Her attackers are hunters (Brotherhood) and they want her but she has no idea why (they are looking for the witches and burning them alive). She finds out that they mystery woman is actually a witch and lets Stella know she isn’t alone that there are others just like her willing to help her manage and control her powers.

Will Stella be able to control her powers or will she die trying?

I really enjoyed the book and looking forward to the other books.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Guest Post) Camilla Chafer

Posted on by Cindy

If you read my earlier post you will see that I am a Bewitching Book Tour for Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer. When I first heard about the book I wanted to read it. I am lucky enough to have Camilla Chafer do a guest post for me.

Thanks Camilla for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this for me. Please help me welcome Camilla to Cindy’s Love of Books.

Hi Cindy, thanks for inviting me over to your gorgeous blog. Today, on Illicit Magic’s penultimate tour stop, I wanted to talk a little about getting into my characters’ heads. It’s kind of weird writing several people, working out their individual motivations, strengths and flaws but now, several books into the series, I find myself automatically saying no, Stella would think first before doing that or Evan wouldn’t say that as though the characters are real. Well, they’ve lived in my head long enough! Here’s some insight into three of the main characters.

I write from Stella’s point of view. She’s a very realistic sort of heroine. She isn’t kickass, she’s lonely at the start and she’s not very happy. The first couple of chapters reflect that as she’s feeling pretty sorry for herself, but as the novel progresses we really start to see a change in her personality. I wanted to this change in her to mirror how her magic grows, how her life changes, how ready she is for change but finally also how she’s comfortable in her own skin. As the series goes on, Stella strengthens not only in her magic but really blossoms as a character. Most of all I wanted her to be an antithesis to the two most common modern heroines in the urban fantasy/paranormal genre: the “normal” heroine who needs to be saved by an all powerful supernatural guy, and the kickass sword-wielding woman who blasts her way through the bad guys. Ultimately, Stella is going to have to find a way to save herself.

Writing Evan, Stella’s love interest, is fun. I wanted him to be a little uptight at the start and mysterious, then as Stella starts to open up, so does he. He’s wildly attracted to her but very careful of their precarious position as he’s not a witch but something very different, plus though he’s been sent to look after her he believes there’s more to it than simply teaching her magic. He’s honest, reliable, and waits for her to be ready and open to something more with him. He’s got a lot of history that we’ve yet to uncover.

Etoile is a lot of fun to write. She’s a little snarky. She says the things other people might not say and she’s very smart. She’s a counterbalance to Stella. Where Stella is shy and lonely, Etoile is deeply self assured and has a loving family. Crucially they share a lot of the same traits; they’re both loyal, kind, and determined, and that’s why they make good friends. During Illicit Magic, Stella needs Etoile. Later in the series, it’s likely that the tables will be turned and that’s when their friendship will truly become an equal one.

[Thanks once again Camilla for doing this and thanks to Bewitching Book Tours for making this happen. I truly appreciate what you guys have done and are doing.]

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.